Bulgaria take on the visitors Iran in a friendly international match. The match will be played on Thursday, September 7th.
Certainly, in the football hierarchy in recent years, the Bulgarian national team has significantly declined and has firmly transitioned into the category of average teams, closer to the lower ranks. The reason lies in the absence of a worthy generation like the times of Lechkov, Balakov, or Penev with Stoichkov, and the domestic league's excess of foreign players, making champions like Ludogorets (for example) uncontested for many years. The failure at the start of the Euro qualification is a continuation of this feast known as decline. A 0-3 loss to Hungary, a 1-1 draw with Serbia at home, and another 1-1 draw with Lithuania were achieved with poor overall quality of play, which began with a 0-1 loss to Montenegro at home at the beginning of the qualification. Even the opponent, Uzbekistan, changed their plans at the last moment and flew to the USA for a more attractive opponent, leaving Bulgaria to face Iran.
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Amir Ghalenoei's team underwent their first test this summer with the new coach, winning the CAFA Cup in Asia, defeating Uzbekistan 1-0, Afghanistan 6-1, and Kyrgyzstan 5-1. In the spring, there was a draw at home against Russia (1-1), where the Iranians arguably deserved the win more, and a victory over Kenya 2-1. Iran have a very strong and experienced core in their national team. Therefore, it's not surprising that they are considered moderate favorites in the away match against Bulgaria.
Iran is currently simply stronger, and they have narrowly missed out on reaching the playoffs in the last two World Cups. Yes, after Carlos Queiroz, Iran have been playing a more open and aggressive style of football, but they have players suited for this style in their squad from the Asian Confederation. Bulgaria are going through a prolonged generational shift, which hasn't yielded much benefit. The hosts haven't qualified for major tournaments for 20 years. With a level playing field, a more cohesive, prepared, and experienced team looks more convincing in this friendly match.
Prediction for the match: Iran to win.
